Aussie man's life-changing injury at buck's party: 'Completely shattered'
Douglas McDonald was celebrating with his friends when tragedy struck.
A Gold Coast man is facing the challenging task of learning how to walk again after a "nasty" motorbike accident while celebrating his buck's party last weekend.
Douglas McDonald, 26, is due to marry his partner Cass Webster in less than two months and was camping with his mates near the South Burnett region in Queensland when he was thrown from his bike, landing on his backside and breaking his back.
The 26-year-old was airlifted to Sunshine Coast University Hospital where he remains in recovery, his friends and family have revealed. The expectant groom fractured his L1 vertebrae and will need to wear a brace for at least three months.
The accident has "completely shattered" the couple, the bride's aunty Rosalind said in a GoFundMe page set up for the pair following the buck's party accident.
"Instead of focusing on their dream wedding, they're looking at how they're going to survive the regular day-to-day bills. He's a long road ahead for recovery," she wrote.
Groom details 'nasty' accident
Douglas, however, remains hopeful for a speedy recovery ahead of his wedding in September. He told the Courier Mail "there's a chance" he'll be out of his back brace just in time to tie the knot.
Detailing the accident, the 26-year-old said he had finished riding when his friend "whipped out his camera" and encouraged him to jump back on the Kawasaki KX450F so he could film it.
"I went up way too high and had to bail from the bike in mid-air as I was going past the down ramp,” he recalled. "I then landed on my arse and broke my back".
The 26-year-old said he laid on the ground in "agony" for at least 40 minutes following the fall as he waited for emergency services. His partner Cass was not informed of the accident for at least two hours due to bad reception in the area.
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Family plead for help ahead of wedding
The Gold Coast man has been described as a "very health-focused guy, who loves going to the gym" and because of his "physically demanding job on the tools as a cabinet maker" is now unable to work.
"He has been working every extra opportunity he could get to try to save for their wedding," Rosalind said.
Cass, meanwhile, says she has been overwhelmed by the help they have received thus far.
"We have no words we are so grateful and overwhelmed with support, this will help us so much," she wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
The family have so far raised almost $3,000 of their $10,000 target.
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